“Sparking A Movement” Post-Summit Blog

2012 NCLR Líderes Summit at the NCLR Annual Conference

“Sparking a Movement.” That was the central theme of the 2012 NCLR Líderes Summit, and the rallying cry of the nearly 300 young people who gathered at the four-day intensive leadership development event that takes place every summer at the NCLR Annual Conference.

Held in the vibrant city of Las Vegas, NV, this year’s Summit drew a motivated and dedicated group of student activitists, campus leaders, DREAMers, youth organizers, youth program managers, and NCLR Affiliates. This powerful force of leaders came looking for five things: training and information, opportunities for professional development, key connections, educational resources, and inspiration to continue their leadership journey.

Students came from California, North Carolina, Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arizona, New Mexico, Michigan, Utah, Colorado, Oregon, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico. After completing a full program of peer-led educational workshops, artistic cultural performances, professional development sessions, and youth-centered forums, several Líderes youth talked at length about the Summit’s impact on their self-confidence, sense of purpose, and level of commitment achieving personal and collective success.

Featured speakers like Nevada State Senator Ruben Kihuen, Nevada Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, and Consuelo Kickbusch encouraged the youth to continue learning and pursuing their dreams, and to develop as advocates of justice and equality. Janet Murguía, CEO and President of NCLR, also addressed the students and DREAMers who attended the Summit, congratulating them on their advocacacy efforts and rejoicing with them in recent victory of deferred action for undocumented youth.

The Summit featured 18 educational workshops covered practical topics like how to start leadership organizations on campus, how to interview effectively, how to apply for financial aid, how to develop public speaking abilities, learning to be a peer health educator, and discovering ways to minimize post-college debt.

Lastly, as part of the cultural component of Summit, youth celebrated their Latino heritage with performances from youth artists participating in ballet folklorico, a Quinceañera fashion show, mariachis, spoken word, and numbers from the local dance sensation Meccammee. The students then added their own talent to the mix at the annual Líderes Cultural Talent Showcase.